The Information Age is both good and bad.

Recent events have lead me to one conclusion. This age we live in, in which our lives are so shaped by technology, is easier in some ways, and more complicated in others.

Of course, for me, it's easier because all the information in the world is right at my fingertips. If I want to know about anything, there's no going to the library and sorting through hundreds of books by the Dewey Decimal System (does anyone besides me even remember that crap?!) or looking at microfilm anymore. No, all it takes now if I'm curious about something (which I often am) is to flip open my computer, click the little fox icon, and type a word or phrase in the Google box when the page comes up. Upon doing that, I'll have thousands of articles on the subject of my interest right there on my desktop within a second or two. The Information Age is an information junky's paradise. In that way, I adore it. I never have to wonder about anything for long. There is hardly an off-limits fact in the world, which is awfully nice for the inquisitive among us.

The way in which it's harder stems from the fact that information is a double edged sword. The more you know, the more you notice how many other people don't know whatever it is that you know. I don't know about the rest of you, but to me, knowledge is contagious. No matter what it is, I want to pass it on. When I learned Calculus, I left my papers all over the house to show Thak how cool my new math skills were. When I learned circuits, I wanted to rip everything apart because I KNEW how it worked, and actually COULD put it back together again! Every time I get a great book, when I'm done reading it, I always end up giving it away to someone else on the condition that they, too, will pass it along when done, because I can't keep the knowledge of its greatness to myself. (Yes, due to the latter, my home library is sorely lacking, but my book expenditure probably rivals many people's.)

When it comes to parenting things, I'm exactly the same way. When I learn about something that's pertinent to life at the moment, I'm definitely going to pass that along because I like to know stuff, and figure others do, too. Car seat safety is a big one. There are also many awesome articles and studies out there on vaccine safety, chemical exposure via disposable diapers, circumcision, baby wearing, product safety, and really any other topic you can think of. When I find something that really makes a lot of sense, I always want to share it, and generally do. I'm extremely selective about my sources, and they must be objective, peer reviewed, and scientific. When I share something, it is fact. When someone shares something like that with me, I pay attention to it. I'm not interested in hearsay, or Fox News reports, or Penn and Teller. I consider the source always, but if the source is respectable (World Health Organization, Journal of the American Medical Association, etc) then I respect the information held within.

Unfortunately, others don't seem to have the same respect for information as the curious ones among us. Upon receipt of valuable information from respectable sources, these people are often likely to call the messenger condescending or rude, or to otherwise defend their right to do things ass-backward despite it being scientifically proven that the opposite is far superior in nearly every way. I can only imagine these are the same people who see some term they do not understand, and just go on about their day not understanding. I guess I never will understand that mentality. Every time I don't understand something, I at least google the term to get some sense of it, and generally do a lot more than that. I'm curious. I don't know what it's like not to be, and I'm glad I am. I've come to the conclusion that being curious leads to a more progressive and all around better lifestyle, because you're always learning.

The other hard thing about the digital age we live in, which ties in with the first thing, is that we are in each other's lives on a ridiculous level. A person you are friendly with at a coffee may add you on Facebook or follow you on Twitter, or get your blog URL (but not from me! At least 75% of the people I know have no idea I blog.) and then after that, you are now privy to 100% of each other's lives in a great many cases.

Hey, look! It's a twitpic of their kid! Look at that nasty, poorly installed, incorrectly used, expired car seat with the forward-facing baby in nothing but a disposable diaper, covered head to toe in Cheetos! (True story, by the way.) By one image, I have just learned a hell of a lot about that person as a parent, and I can admit it, judged the hell out of them. Yeah, yeah, we're not supposed to judge. Find me the one person who doesn't, and I'll sell you a bridge dirt cheap. The fact is, we're so much more exposed to each other's lives these days than ever before. Obviously it's anyone's choice what to put and not put online, but most people put a lot, and therefore let the entire world in on their shortcomings as well as their triumphs. Bottom line, social networking shows us the down and dirty version of the people we know, ignorant political views (blaming Obama for Bush's screw-ups, anyone??), crappy parenting, and all. These are things we'd probably never have known about certain people if we just knew them on the perfunctory level that we did prior to becoming social networking contacts. The problem is that now, there's the expectation that everyone from your true blue buddies to a friend of a friend's dog (no shit, a friend from a previous duty station put her dog on a social networking site) is supposed to be your contact on whatever your social media is. We're exposed on an immense level to people we would have only limited dealings with in the absence of social media, and this creates problems.

Obviously, the solution is simple. Delete, block, and deny requests from the potential ignorant fools in your life. It's not that simple, though, because the expectation is that you won't, so that opens a whole new can of worms. It's any given person's choice, of course, but the one thing that's true is that the Information Age has its good sides and its bad sides, and the good and the bad are both exacerbated significantly for us, the curious ones. ;-)